Arya
Arya (titled Arya Svit-kona; also known as Arya Dröttningu) was a female elf, the daughter of Queen Islanzadí Dröttning and her husband Evandar, and therefore a princess. Arya was stunningly beautiful, with raven-black hair and green eyesArya is described as having black hair and green eyes in the book; however, her appearance is slightly different in the film.. She was also a master swordswoman and magic user. Eragon expressed his deep feelings for her on many occasions, but because of the broad age gap between them, Arya chose to reject his advances. __TOC__ History Early years Arya was banned from Islanzadí's presence because she chose to devote herself fully to the cause of the Varden. She was appointed the courier of the one dragon egg Brom and Jeod had managed to recover from Galbatorix's clutches, and spent 15 years conveying the precious egg back and forth from Farthen Dûr to Ellesméra, in the hopes that eventually a new Dragon Rider would be found. Capture Galbatorix somehow got wind of this arrangement, and sent the Shade, Durza, to ambush Arya and recapture the egg. The Shade managed to accomplish the former, but failed the latter, for Arya teleported the egg into the wilds of the Spine, intending that Brom, in Carvahall, would find it. Instead, the egg came to Eragon, and Arya was imprisoned in Gil'ead.That is where she underwent torture, refusing to reveal any information about the Varden or the Elves. Each day, she was given a dose of a deadly poison, called Skilna Bragh, that would slowly kill her while undermining her magic abilities. Rescue She was scryed by Eragon - extraordinarily, because scrying usually was limited to objects and places the viewer had seen in the past. Eragon was heavily impacted by his visions of this mysterious lady.When he himself was captured by Durza and imprisoned in the same prison as the Elf was being held he encountered her for the first time. When Murtagh and Saphira staged a daring rescue mission, Eragon insisted that Arya come along with them, despite the difficulties this might incur upon their travels. When Eragon attempted to heal her, he found she was branded, whipped, and beaten. Arya remained in a self-induced comatose state, which slowed the effects of the deadly poison within her. Mentally communicating with Eragon, however, she informed him that unless they could reach the Varden, who had the antidote - Tunivor's Nectar - she would die within three or four days. Farthen Dûr They managed to reach the Varden in time to save her, and she was healed sufficiently to fight when Farthen Dûr came under attack from Urgals and Kull. During the battle, she saved Eragon's life by distracting Durza with the breaking of the Isidar Mithrim, through her action she earned the dislike of the dwarves. Ellesméra and The Burning Plains After the battle and the havoc wreaked by the death of Ajihad, she accompanied Eragon to Ellesméra, where she was reconciled with her estranged mother. Her feelings towards Eragon, however, began to grow cool, as he approached her with unwanted admiration. Following the Blood-Oath Celebration, she returned to the Varden, and aided them in preparing for attack by Galbatorix's forces. She fought at the Battle of The Burning Plains. She was, along with Nasuada, the first one to know that Eragon was Morzan's son. House Dröttning Arya's family was one of the several royal houses in Ellesméra. The House of Dröttning, which line possibly dated back to Queen Tarmunora, had been in power for many years. Tarmunora was succeeded by Dellanir, Arya's grandmother, implying that Tarmunora was a Dröttning. However, she could have handed the throne to another royal house, as Elves sometimes do. Dellanir ruled for centuries before voluntarily abdicating in favor of her son, Evandar. Evandar then became king and mated with an Elf princess, Islanzadí, who gave birth to Arya. Evandar died at the hands of either Galbatorix or one of the Forsworn about one hundred years before the Rider War, and Islanzadí ruled after him. It is unclear how many family members Arya has apart from her mother; however, Arya has stated that she has no brothers or sisters. The only other Dröttning mentioned, and that only in passing, was named Niduen. Niduen sent a gift to Eragon when he arrived in Ellesméra, but it is uncertain what relation Niduen was to Arya. Real-world connections Speculations * It has been speculated that Arya may be the next Dragon Rider, as the dragon from a future book would be green, the color associates with Arya's magic and also her eyes. Also in her favor are the fact that she is Eragon's love interest (her dragon is presumed to become Saphira's mate) and that she is female - This would even out the dragon riders, as all are currently male. * It's possible that she knew Brom. It's also possible she was the woman Brom loved. Since they lived at the same time, and Arya was easy to fall in love with, the two possibly loved each other and Arya was only thought to be dead but Brom never knew, since Brom died right before Eragon rescued her. This would make sense, if you think about it, Brom was alive during the fall of the riders, making him over 100 years old. Arya was born the year after the fall, making her 100. * It's possible that she loved one of her guards (when she was guarding Saphira's egg) Fäolin. In Eldest, she reveals to Eragon that he made her a flower during a celebration, as well as she refuesed to speak about him as Eragon asked about the two guards that died during the Shade's attack. Similarities *Arya is similar to JRR Tolkien's Arwen. Both are elves, and both are loved by a human. (Eragon and Aragorn) The main difference between them is that Arwen falls in love with Aragorn. * Arya is also comparable to Wars Organa who was originally intended to be Luke's love interest. Other *Arya was portrayed by Sienna Guillory in the film version of Eragon. *The word "Arya" itself is a Sanskrit and Avestan word that means "noble". *Arya is one of two characters in the Inheritance cycle whose last name is revealed. Her surname, Drottning, means 'queen' in Icelandic and Swedish. *Arya is one of the most-criticised characters of Inheritance. It is argued that she is a flat character, as Paolini focuses more on her beauty and skills in battle than her personality. The scene in Eldest when she attacks a dwarven priest's religious beliefs have also been criticised, as it made her appear rather bigoted and intolerant. Notes Category:Characters Category:Elves Category:Magic users Category:Varden Category:Royalty Category:Females es:Arya